It is estimated that more than 1.9 billion adults worldwide are overweight; this includes 650 million people with obesity.
In the UK, more than half of the population is overweight or obese. The NHS data shows that 1 in every 4 adults and around 1 in every 5 children 1 are living with obesity. The Health Survey for England 2021 estimates that 25.9% of adults in England are obese and a further 37.9% are overweight but not obese. Between 1993 and 2019, the proportion of adults in England who are obese rose from 14.9% to 28.0%, while the proportion who were either overweight or obese rose from 52.9% to 64.3%.
It is a huge problem for many of us and managing the proper weight is a great challenge. What is the first thing you think about when you want to lose weight? Stop snacking between meals and ditching all kinds of snacks, right? But does it have to include healthy snacks like nuts?
New research from the University of South Australia shows that one type of nuts - almonds, can actually help you lose weight.
This is the most extensive study of its kind up to date, and it proves that nuts can support a healthy diet for weight management and cardiometabolic health.
The study included 106 participants who completed a nine-month eating program (a three-month energy-restricted diet for weight loss, followed by a six-month energy-controlled diet for weight maintenance). In both phases, 15% of participants' energy intake comprised unsalted whole almonds with skins (for the nut diet) or 15% carbohydrate-rich snacks such as rice crackers or baked cereal bars (for the nut-free diet).
The scientists found that adding almonds as supplements to an energy-restricted diet helped people lose weight and improved their cardiometabolic health. The energy-restricted diets supplemented with Californian almonds as healthy snacks had excellent results, helping people successfully reduce their body weight by about 7 kilograms.
The study researcher, Dr Sharayah Carter, said: "Nuts, like almonds, are a great snack. They're high in protein, fibre and packed with vitamins and minerals, but they also have a high-fat content, which people can associate with increased body weight."
"Nuts contain unsaturated fats -- or healthy fats -- which can improve blood cholesterol levels, ease inflammation, and contribute to a healthy heart", she added.
"In this study we examined the effects of an almond-supplemented diet with a nut-free diet to identify any influence on weight and cardiometabolic outcomes.
"Both the nut and nut-free diets resulted in approximately 9.3% reduction in body weight over the trial.
"Yet the almond-supplemented diets also demonstrated statistically significant changes in some highly atherogenic lipoprotein subfractions, which may lead to improved cardiometabolic health in the longer term.
"Additionally, nuts have the added benefit of making you feel fuller for longer, which is always a pro when you're trying to manage your weight."
